Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Runaway F1 championship leader Max Verstappen had the fastest time in qualifying for the rain-hit Belgian Grand Prix. But Charles Leclerc will start Sunday's race from pole position because of Verstappen's five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. The Red Bull driver will start from sixth place. That will hardly bother the two-time reigning Formula One champion considering he won last year from 14th. The qualifying session was delayed for 10 minutes because of heavy rain and with the track still soaked. The rain-marred first practice session took place amid gloomy conditions. Governing body FIA would have set the grid in order of the championship standings if qualifying had been canceled due to poor weather.
